Retinal Vein Occlusions: Therapeutic Switch in Macular Oedema Treatment with a 12-Month Follow-Up

{Purpose: To compare the visual and anatomical outcomes of patients with macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO) after a switch from bevacizumab to intravitreal injection of a dexamethasone implant (IVI-DEX) or conversely. Methods: 48 patients - 40 in the antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) DEX sequence (AD group), 8 in the DEX anti-VEGF sequence (DA group) - were included in this multicentre retrospective study and evaluated at baseline, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the switch. The outcome measurements were visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) evaluated by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Patients were defined as `good responders' if CMT was <= 300 mu m after the switch. Results: VA significantly improved at 1 month in the AD group (p = 0.03) but not in the DA group (p = 0.40). CMT decreased significantly in the AD group at 1, 6 and 12 months (p = 0.002